Justice Ben Miller trust launches $3.2M fund at Land of Lincoln CF focused on women in need

The Justice Ben Miller Declaration of Trust has awarded a $3.2 million gift to the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, establishing the Justice Benjamin K. Miller Charitable Fund to advance the late Illinois Chief Justice’s philanthropic priorities, addressing critical community needs across Illinois with an initial focus on support for women in need. The fund has already distributed $1.21 million in grants to seven nonprofit organizations for housing, domestic violence prevention, crisis childcare, pregnancy support, and services for sexual assault survivors. Miller, who died in 2024 at the age of 87, served as the state’s supreme court from 1984 to 2001 before returning to private practice and the study of bioethics.